Daily news update: 101 573 vaccine doses administered, Hlaudi joins Zuma for tea, Ramaphosa learned from Madiba

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Daily Covid-19 update: 1227 new cases, 101 573 vaccine doses administered

On Saturday, South Africa recorded 1227 confirmed new Covid-19 infections, while 81 more deaths due to the virus have been recorded.

In a statement released on Saturday night, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said the country’s total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases as of Saturday stand on 1 520 206, and the total number of deaths on 50 647.

The total number of recoveries were 1 439 515.

Picture: Department of Health

Over 100,000 healthcare workers in SA vaccinated for Covid-19, says Health Dept

The Department of Health on Saturday said more than 100,000 healthcare workers in the country had been vaccinated for Covid-19 with early access to the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine.

Two weeks ago, South Africa kicked off its vaccination drive for healthcare workers under the Sisonke Study using the single dose J&J vaccine to assess the effectiveness of the shot before it can be administered to the general population.

The Department of Health has celebrated the milestone reached and thanked all the health workers who had received their vaccinations. It said this demonstrated their trust in medical science and confidence in the system.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng visits Zuma for Nkandla ‘tea’ meeting, BLF’s Andile Mngxitama to visit next

African Content Movement (ACM) leader Hlaudi Motsoeneng has become the latest politician to visit former president Jacob Zuma at his KwaZulu-Natal homestead in Nkandla for one of his infamous “tea meetings”.

Motsoeneng, a staunch supporter of the former statesman, joins a long list of several guests who have visited Zuma recently after he defied a Constitutional Court order last month compelling him to appear before the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture.

Taking to Twitter on Friday evening, Zuma’s daughter Duduzile posted pictures of her father with Motsoeneng, describing him as a visionary who was vilified for his controversial 90% local content quota when he was the SABC’s chief operating officer.

Hallmark of today’s tea with @PresJGZuma Hlaodi Motsoaneng,vilified4implementation of 90% Local content in Favour of SA Artists.A visionary who led SABC,paid salaries&never retrenched anyone.2day SABC Employees r shown flames.Thank you Hlaodi4Putting SA first.We miss u at SABC pic.twitter.com/HmgOpCUChN

— Dudu Zuma-Sambudla (@DZumaSambudla) March 5, 2021

Ramaphosa’s mission on cadre deployment may be political suicide 

Only a capable, efficient, ethical state can deliver what is necessary to improve our lives. That starts with the people who work in it.

The public service must be staffed by people who are skilled, selfless and honest.

Instead, while pockets of excellence exist, we have serious challenges with regards to skills, competence and professionalism.

Too often, people have been hired and promoted to key positions for which they are neither suitable nor qualified.

‘It worked for Madiba’, says Ramaphosa on his ‘consultative’ leadership style

President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended and finally explained his “consultative” leadership style, saying he learned it from Nelson Mandela and the African forebears for whom it worked.

Addressing the National Council of Provinces in Cape Town on Thursday, he said he was often accused of being too consultative, like traditional leaders for whom the nature of their work required them to consult with their communities all the time.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was ANC secretary-general at the time, stands next to President Nelson Mandela as he holds up a copy of the new South African Constitution at its signing in 1996. Picture: Robbie Botha – The Sunday Times

But even as he was being accused of being too consultative, he still wanted to be able to advance the consultation process.

“I conclude to myself that we are doing what our forebears had always done where nothing is ever done without proper consultation with our people.

“It is a practice and process that I will continue to hold on to because there is nothing that beats being consultative, that beats hearing all the views of everyone else,” Ramaphosa said.

Why Golf GTI should take note of BMW hot hatch

BMW’s announcement that its newly-arrived 128ti is taking the fight to Volkswagen’s iconic local favourite has divided opinion, similar to that on the grand stand at a Soweto derby.

Motoring media, having experienced the car for themselves last week, were unanimous in praising the merits of the 128ti. And their assessment had many a motoring enthusiast sit up with excitement over the prospect of BMW entering the hot hatch fray.

But this was met with strong resistance by the pro-GTI crowd on social media, a group which greatly outnumbers any other in all fairness. And their general narrative was: How dare anyone even mention the newcomer in the same breath as the local legend?

BMW 128ti front

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